"I promise, this will be the last time he sees you alone. In the future, he will never have the chance to trouble you again."

So that’s how it is!

Seeing the seriousness in his expression, Yun Wanyao’s doubts were cleared, and her frustration dissipated.

She almost thought that he was unwilling to confront Mo Yuanhao over this matter, so the Iron Eagle Guard hadn’t intended to show themselves, and only wanted to watch from the shadows.

She had planned that if this was really his intention, she would tell him to forget about entering the palace and void their previous agreement, severing ties with him completely.

So as not to be caught between them and be condemned by the ministers, gaining a bad reputation.

"But, King Qi doesn’t agree with the Emperor having any relations with the minister’s daughter, otherwise..." Should the Emperor reconsider carefully?

This matter is very important, so she wanted to remind him again, to prevent future changes, so she could perhaps evading responsibility and feigning innocence.

However, before she could finish her sentence, her mouth was blocked, and all unsaid words were pushed back.

His lips pressed hard against her, a buzzing numbness mixed with a slight sting, his expression not looking good, his eyes half-closed, kissing fiercely and passionately, like an enraged beast.

Yun Wanyao was startled, her pupils contracted sharply. After regaining her composure, she tried to push him away forcefully.

Men and women should not touch, although she agreed to enter the palace, but now it wasn’t justified, his overly intimate behavior was indeed offensive.

Thinking of those lessons on female virtue, and her multiple breaches of conduct, Yun Wanyao felt guilty and uneasy.

"Mmm..."

The man in front of her was like a wall of iron, no matter how hard she pushed, he didn’t budge an inch, Yun Wanyao faintly sensed a dangerous aura.

As she was at a loss for what to do, her wrists were suddenly grabbed, he left her lips, leaning his forehead against hers, calming his heavy and rapid breaths.

Their closeness caused all the breaths to fall on her face, hot, sparking a tingling discomfort. Yun Wanyao instinctively moved her head back slightly, only to be forcefully held back by him again.

He looked at her, his eyes dark, like bottomless abysses.

His throat slowly moved, a low voice escaped his lips, entering her ears, raspy like electricity, irresistibly captivating, making her heart tremble uncontrollably.

"The missed appointment yesterday, you haven’t explained it to me yet, and you’re already saying things I don’t like to hear, Yun Wanyao, this is your punishment."

Yun Wanyao: "..."

At the mention of the missed appointment, she felt instantly embarrassed and lost her temper, just wanting to bury her head like an ostrich.

But clearly, that’s impossible.

"I, the minister’s daughter, know my mistake, I’m sorry..."

She pursed her lips, not hurrying to justify herself, but honestly admitting her mistake in apology, conveying the attitude of the offending party extremely properly, hoping he would spare her.

"So, why did you miss the appointment yesterday? Hm?"

He narrowed his eyes, the alluring voice from before now cool and carrying an irresistible aura of danger, as if saying that if her answer didn’t satisfy him, he’d definitely show her the consequences.

Yun Wanyao shrank her neck, quickly organizing her words in her mind, and weakly explained.

"Replying to the Emperor, the minister’s daughter really didn’t do it on purpose, yesterday my younger sister wasn’t feeling well, I was anxious, so I forgot about the appointment with the Emperor..."

Though this wasn’t the main reason, the younger sister was indeed unwell, so she absolutely wasn’t deceiving the Emperor.

After clarifying the reason, Yun Wanyao blinked, suppressing her guilt, and began to plead her case. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"The minister’s daughter really knows her mistake, I promise I won’t do it again, please forgive the minister’s daughter this time, I beg the Emperor."

No matter how she thought about it, she never imagined it was because of this reason, suddenly Mo Yuanlin’s mind conjured the image of that very cute baby girl, his brows moved slightly, eyes flashed with concern.

"Your younger sister is unwell? Is it serious? How is she now?"

Upon hearing him call Yun Wanqing that way, Yun Wanyao was stunned, staring blankly at him.

Was it a slip of the tongue?

Why did he also call her little sister?

That’s her little sister.

Stop calling her randomly!

As if seeing through her thoughts, Mo Yuanlin raised an eyebrow and said, "Yao’er’s little sister is also my little sister. Is there any problem with the way you’re looking at me?"

"No, no problem..."

Coming to her senses, Yun Wanyao shook her head quickly.

Alright, he can call her whatever he likes.

"So, how is the little sister now?"

He asked again.

Seeing him so concerned about Yun Wanqing, Yun Wanyao felt very happy, immediately finding him much more pleasing to the eye.

Yes, in this aspect, he’s indeed much better than Mo Yuanhao.

Since her birth, the younger sister met these two brothers twice, the first meeting the Emperor held her, and because of that, her father had the chance to save the Emperor’s life.

The second was at the Winter Feast, at that time, he seemed to like the younger sister very much, disregarding imperial etiquette to hold the younger sister, though he was rejected by Yun Wanye.

On the contrary, Mo Yuanhao hardly seemed to have ever really looked at the younger sister, of course, the younger sister didn’t like him either.

"Thank the Emperor for his concern, the younger sister is much better now, a few days of rest will completely heal her."

"That’s good. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen the little sister for a long time, maybe I’ll make time to visit the Duke Ning Mansion in the next few days to see her."

For some unknown reason, Mo Yuanlin always felt that little baby girl was very fated to him, whenever he saw her, he couldn’t resist wanting to get closer.

By nature aloof, he was always cold to others, aside from his mother and Yun Wanyao, this was the first time he felt like getting close to someone.

Even with Mo Zhaozhao, during childhood, he felt little affection for her.

When did they start getting close?

It was after his father and mother both passed away, when he bore the responsibility of the world under the protection of Duke Ning, awakening his sense of duty.

And at that time, she always cried so vulnerably and pitifully, looking helpless and completely broken, grabbing his sleeve and timidly calling him elder brother.

For a moment, he suddenly realized that the responsibilities he shouldered were never just for the empire and the people, but for her and Mo Yuanhao as well, they were also his responsibilities.

Just like that, familial bonds became a side effect born from his sense of duty.

He forced himself to grow close to them, and gradually he adapted.

"Alright, then I thank the Emperor on behalf of my little sister."

Yun Wanyao happily expressed her gratitude.

It’s good that he’s willing to visit the younger sister, she often gets bored, meeting new people might be nice.

"Just a verbal thanks? Yao’er is really perfunctory!"

Yun Wanyao: "..."

Isn’t it customary to express thanks verbally?

Besides, she just wanted to say something polite, simply because the atmosphere reached a point where saying nothing wasn’t appropriate.

From his tone, it seemed like he wanted her to present something tangible.

Given the clear hint, she couldn’t pretend not to understand and not respond.

"The minister’s daughter came empty-handed, without preparation, when the Emperor goes to see the younger sister, can I make up for the gift then?"

"Why trouble yourself with that?"

He really wasn’t after a gift.

Suddenly, Mo Yuanlin chuckled softly, his eyes mercilessly gazing at her, betraying emotions she didn’t understand, yet inexplicably making her anxious.

"Mmm..."

In the next instant, her soft lips were sealed with another kiss.

*

At the corner of the street.

Mo Yuanhao stood hidden behind the wall, watching Yun Wanyao being escorted away by the Iron Eagle Guard, like a stone statue, standing motionless for a long time.

Suddenly, a nimble figure emerged from the nearby alley, walking briskly toward him.

"Hi, what a coincidence, Prince."